The present invention relates to thermal printing postage meter.
A new and novel thermal postage meter assembly includes a number of system modules. It is the objective of this thermal postage meter to function in a way such that upon the placement of an envelope on the deck of the thermal printer by an operator, the envelope encounters a position sensing assembly which should include an envelope stop arrangement to assure proper longitudinal envelope positioning. Upon proper positioning of the envelope on the deck, the position sensing assembly is desired to sense the presence of the envelope and inform a microcontroller to first duck the positioning sensing assembly out of the way, inclusive of the stop assembly, and initiate the print sequence. Upon initiation of the print sequence, a platen roller assembly should be positionable to bring the print area of the envelope into contact with the print ribbon of a ribbon cassette. The thermal print head of the postage meter should be located in a suitable position to act as a backing to the print ribbon. The microcontroller should be responsible for causing the positioning of the platen roller into a print position and for causing the platen roller to be rotated for printing. Following completion of the print cycle, it is necessary for the microcontroller to cause the envelope to be ejected from the postage meter.